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Chapter 4

A Hymn and a Secret

I

T was quite late (days are short in November) when Alyo-

sha rang at the prison gate. It was beginning to get dusk.

But Alyosha knew that he would be admitted without diffi-

culty. Things were managed in our little town, as everywhere

else. At first, of course, on the conclusion of the preliminary

inquiry, relations and a few other persons could only obtain

interviews with Mitya by going through certain inevitable

formalities. But later, though the formalities were not re-

laxed, exceptions were made for some, at least, of Mitya’s

visitors. So much so, that sometimes the interviews with the

prisoner in the room set aside for the purpose were practi-

cally tete-a-tete.

These exceptions, however, were few in number; only

Grushenka, Alyosha and Rakitin were treated like this. But

the captain of the police, Mihail Mihailovitch, was very fa-

vourably disposed to Grushenka. His abuse of her at Mokroe

weighed on the old man’s conscience, and when he learned

the whole story, he completely changed his view of her. And

strange to say, though he was firmly persuaded of his guilt,

yet after Mitya was once in prison, the old man came to